Cost of Living Update No. 12, September 2012

This report tracks changes in the cost of living, particularly for vulnerable and disadvantaged South Australians.

The first part uses the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Selected Living Cost Indexes (ABS, 2012a) and Consumer Price Index (ABS, 2012c) to show changes in the cost of living in the last quarter and over the last 12 months. Previous SACOSS reports have used the ABS Analytical Living Cost Index (ABS, 2012d), but this index has been discontinued and incorporated into the Selected Living Cost Indexes.

This publication also contains an in-depth analysis of cost of living trends in one key area of concern in relation to cost of living pressures on vulnerable and disadvantaged South Australians. This Update focuses on the cost of utilities (electricity, gas and water) and uses the disaggregated CPI figures for Adelaide, as well as quantitative and qualitative data from other sources.